The Lost Twin
by Nature9000
Summary: Haunted by nightmares that have followed him all his life, Matt spent years searching for his twin sibling who was separated from the family at birth. When his girlfriend, Malina manages to locate the nurse, he jumps at the opportunity to find his missing sibling. Unfortunately the knowledge may prove more of an burden for him than the relief and answers he longs for.


The Lost Twin

Disclaimer: Don't own anything

A/N: This is actually a prequel for a story I've already got up, I'll tell you more in the final note.

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-SEARCHING-

_Two babies lay in the hospital nursery, with one crying while the other slept. The moonlight cast a glow upon the one that lay asleep in her crib. The door slid open and the wailing child stopped as a woman with soft brown hair and nurse's scrubs slipped in. "Okay." The woman looked over her shoulder, then made her way towards the slumbering child. "They've got a sweet daughter, the McGuire's are a sweet family."_

_ The nurse lifted the small infant from the crib. The baby in his crib watched with a sense of fear as the nurse cradled his sister. "It's okay little one. They won't mind. I can't have babies and my husband's overseas. He…he thinks I'm pregnant. I was pregnant when he deployed, but..." The baby started to wail and the nurse looked down to the child. "Oh your brother's awake. It's okay sweetie, just relax."_

_ The child screamed as the woman moved slowly towards the door with his sister cradled in her arms, but the young infant's only weapon was its cry. Other babies started to stir, but by the time anyone responded, the woman was gone._

"Her name was Holly Vega, a Registered Nurse." Seventeen year old Matt McGuire sat with his girlfriend of four years, his hands were folded over on the table and his thumbs twiddled together. "I haven't told them anything, Malina."

"Well we don't know if this is certain yet." He watched as she swept her blonde braids over her shoulders. "But looking into it, it really seems like they're in LA." She moved her hand onto his and her crystal blue eyes comforted him. "What do you think would happen if it turns out-"

"I don't know." He pulled his hands away and leaned back in his chair, sighing heavily as he thought of all the material he'd discovered on his twin sister. "Lizzie, Mom and Dad have been really protective for the last seventeen years. Of course they still think about her. They never though the nurse on staff was the one that took her." If his family knew the real reason he went with Malina to see her family, they'd be too upset with him, but he was curious. He had to know what happened to his sister, and needed some assurance she was even alive after all these years.

"I'm just surprised the police never investigated this woman."

Matt rubbed his chin and slanted his eyes as Malina picked up her car keys. "If we leave now, we can get to LA within the hour." Her uncle and aunt didn't live in Sacramento, and she only got to drive out and visit them a few times in the year. When she looked into the nurses on staff in New York and found out one of them lived in Los Angeles, she offered Matt to come on the trip to see her family so they could drive out to LA.

"I don't have a plan, Malina." He swept his trembling fingers through the spikes in his hair. "I remember nothing beyond the age of four, but I've always had these nightmares…that my sister and I are in the hospital, and this woman comes in and takes her away." His face tensed and he lowered his hand. "If this is that woman, if my sister's there-" His blood pulsed through his veins in swift rivets as anxiety started to rise. "I don't think I could tell Mom and dad, or even Lizzie."

"Why?" She raised an eyebrow and slid her hands to her hips. "If this is the woman who took your sister, if your sister's there, why not tell them?"

"What if she's got a good family?" Matt rose up from the table and turned fully towards Malina. His muscles tensed for the moment and his face started to sink. "Think about it, she's lived her life for seventeen years, known one family as her own. Mom is so emotional about the issue, but she also might not want to throw a wrench into someone's life."

It was best not to get ahead of himself just yet since they didn't know for sure if this was the woman, but there was a connection that he felt which pulled him towards the big city.

Yet for once he wasn't confident, he wasn't sure of himself or what to do. He'd dreamt for years what it would be like if she were still with the family. Of course, he could only imagine both of them getting on Lizzie's nerves.

Arriving at the house Malina discovered, Matt remained in the car across the street. "Now or never, Matt." He looked over to his girlfriend, then glanced at the house. He struggled to move, unable to swallow his nerves.

"What do we do, Malina? We can't very well go and knock on the door." They could sneak about and look through the window, but he was trembling so much he didn't think he could do it. "I don't think I can be very sneaky."

Malina's eyebrows rose and she jerked back suddenly. "This is coming from you? You're Matt McGuire, you're confident. We did not come all this way for you to chicken out of something you've wanted to find out all your life." He bowed his head and started to chuckle.

"I hate it when you're right."

"Face it, you'd be lost without me." She pat his shoulder, then pushed the door open. "Now let's go. Or do you need more time?"

"No." He took a deep breath and got out of the car while adjusting his clothes. "I'm ready." They made their way to the house and crouched beneath a cracked window.

Matt slowly lifted himself up to peer through. When he saw the woman on the couch, his heart stopped and the world around him froze. She looked almost exactly as the woman in his nightmares, but older and with longer hair.

His breathing grew shallow and his body began to grow hot with fear, cooling only when he felt Malina's soft hand on his back. "Matt, are you okay? You look pale."

"I…" He shook his head and continued to stare at the woman, she was busy with her cell phone. Her husband was standing behind the kitchen counter. He was tall and had a chiseled appearance. The man was drinking a glass of cold water and looking at his wife with a mix of guilt and disgust in his eyes. "That man is wearing a police uniform, Malina."

"Who?"

"The woman's husband, or I think he's her husband."

"Oh, yeah, I told you what I found. Mr. Vega's pretty high in the ranks of the LAPD." His heart sank and a wave of anger and disbelief crashed through him. What kind of cop would let his wife steal a baby and do nothing about it? His teeth ground together as his eyes slanted. "What's going on, Matt?"

"It's her. That woman, I'd know that face anywhere, I've seen it in my nightmares. She's the nurse that took my sister." His stomach churned as he pulled himself away from the window. He had to resist every urge to run in there and attack this woman. "What? She couldn't adopt her own kid, is that it?"

As his body started to tremble once more, Malina hugged him close, comforting and slowing the pace of his shakes. "It's okay Matt." Her soft whisper was honey to his ears, and as she spoke, he was able to calm himself and return to the window. "We can go if you'd like."

"No. I have to see. I have to know if my sister is here." There were two purses on the counter, one was small and black with a red strap while the other was adorned in glitter and sparkly words. The woman on the couch had her own, so there had to be two other women here. "I need to know, I need this-this closure."

"You know if you don't tell Lizzie or your parents, you have to live with knowing the truth, right?"

"I know, but if she's happy with her family. Regardless, she's got her own family, it would devastate them." It was going to devastate him as well, because it meant he'd never allow himself to make contact with his twin, he didn't want to throw that pressure onto her. Sometimes not knowing the truth was better than knowing the truth and being unable to do a thing about it.

"Well maybe they told her she's adopted."

When he heard voices from inside, he moved a finger over his lips and watched the parents' heads turn to the stairs. Two girls were rushing down the stairs, arguing about something that had to do with something one of their friends said.

"I can tell my friends whatever I want to, Trina." His eyebrows meshed together and Malina's head perked up. _Trina_, it was the name given to his sister, but how could the nurse have left the name the same?

"Not if it's about me, Tori. I'm getting tired of their mocking me because of the things you tell them." Trina was the girl in the back. She had soft brown hair that framed her shoulders, and an outfit with the same colors as what Matt had on.

His heart jumped up and he looked away to try and blink away the water in his eyes. Tori picked up the purse with the glitter while Trina grabbed the other. As they continued to argue, with the parents ignoring the bickering, Matt was struggling with his own emotions.

This was his sister, he could feel it. At this point, he didn't know whether to break down and cry or to leap for joy. His hand moved over his stomach and two lines stretched across his forehead as he sank to the ground.

"Hold on," Trina's voice echoed and a heavy silence fell over everyone. Matt leaned his head back against the wall of the house and closed his eyes while Malina sat beside him and took his hand in hers. "I feel weird, like I'm going to be sick."

"What's the problem?" David asked.

"I don't know, it's just all of a sudden my stomach is upset." The girl muttered and quickly shook her head. "It's nothing. Let's get to school, Tori. I've got something I want to talk to your friends about."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Yeah well, you telling your friends everything under the sun isn't such a good idea either, but you don't seem to mind."

"Oh come on Trina, get over it."

Matt felt himself being tugged and looked to Malina, who was gesturing to the car. Still focused on the whirlwind of emotions within him, he let her guide him to the car and stared out at the house.

"There's so much I wish I could talk to her about, so many questions I have for her."

"I'm here for you, Matt."

"I know. Thanks."

They followed the girls to the school and watched as the two met with a group of kids at a table. Trina seemed to be arguing with them, and they were close enough to hear some of the conversation. The dark haired girl at the table reminded him of Lizzie's former friend, one of the cheerleaders in junior high and high school.

"Seriously Trina, no one likes you," The dark-haired girl chortled. "That said, we can say whatever the hell we want about you."

"Sorry guys," Tori remarked, "I tried to get her to leave well enough alone, but you know how she is."

"A freak, of course." Jade started sipping on her coffee and Trina threw her hands into the air with a defeated sigh. Matt leaned back slowly and felt a rush of emotion as he glared at the woman.

"I don't like her." Matt crossed his arms and looked over to Malina. He'd toned down a lot from when he was younger, but he still entertained the idea of a prank or two when he could. "Can we dump a bucket of hot sauce on her or something like we did to Kate way back then?" Malina laughed and shook her head.

"As fun as that sounds, don't you think it would raise a few a suspicions?"

"You're right. We shouldn't get involved. But still…" He watched Trina walk away and waited as a heavy feeling overtook him. The car grew deathly silent and he found himself wishing to run out and greet his sister. "She has her own family, her own life, as much as I want to-" His shoulders fell and he clasped his hands together, feeling his muscles tense. "It wouldn't be right for me to insert myself into that life, would it?"

"I don't know how to answer that for you, Matt."

This was Pandora's box, essentially, and he opened it. Now he had to live with it. "What would I even say? Hi, I'm your brother, and you were taken from our family?"

"Not the best idea, no."

He moved his fingers to his eyes felt a tremendous shake rumbling through him. "Malina?"

"Yeah, Matt?"

"Is an earthquake happening right now?"

Her lips sank and her hand rubbed over his. "No." When he looked over, he could see water glistening at her eyelids. "But I know it feels like it."

"I think I've seen enough…I want to leave."

"Okay." His phone began to ring, causing him to jump in his seat and grab the phone from his pocket. Malina looked over and frowned. "It's Lizzie, probably checking up on you."

"Yeah." He moved the phone to his ear and cleared his throat. "Hey Lizzie, what's up?"

"Just making sure you're getting along with Malina's family, and not getting into any trouble."

"Who, me? Get into trouble?" He laughed and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "She's the one getting us into trouble, if anyone." Malina smirked and he choked up a sob. Lizzie didn't say anything for some time, and when she finally spoke, it was with concern.

"Everything okay? What's going on?"

"Everything's fine." He looked out the window while Malina started up the car. As they drove off, he made eye contact with Trina, who was seated at a table with her phone before her. Her face softened and her eyebrow rose as her head turned to follow the car.

"Is there anything you want to talk about?"

He wanted to spill everything to his older sister, to tell her what he'd discovered and where he was, but it wouldn't be appropriate. "No, there isn't anything."

"Are you sure? You know you can talk to me."

"I know." Maybe he'd tell her eventually, he just didn't know how to approach the subject. Lizzie and his parents remembered more than he did, they were more emotionally tied to everything than he was. In that sense, they grieved more, though he felt like he was the one that wanted to know his twin more than anyone else.

It was a matter where his father refused to talk about it, his mother would break out in tears every time her lost child was brought up, and Lizzie was always silent. She didn't refuse to discuss it, but she never talked about it, so Matt never truly had anybody to share his feelings with besides Malina or Lenny.

"I'll talk to you when I get back to Sacramento, Liz."

"Alright Matt, and hey, remember we don't want you coming back with any surprises." He blushed at the teasing tone in her voice and looked towards Malina. The girl's eyebrow rose and he shook his head.

"Lizzie!" Of course they'd had sex, but they weren't that active, and they were careful. "Keep that up and you might find yourself sticking to your bed next time you go to sleep." Lizzie laughed.

"I'll be watching you." It was getting harder to prank her these days, but when they got in on their prank wars, things got intense. "Love you, bro."

"You too sis."

As the months rolled by, he struggled with how to tell his family what he'd discovered, and it wasn't easy living with the secret.

On his eighteenth birthday, it was hardest on him. He kept visualizing his twin sitting beside him, ready to share the cake, but whenever he looked over, he only saw an empty chair.

"Aren't you going to eat your cake?" Lizzie asked. He looked up with a frown at his sister and shrugged. It was a specially made cake that his mother made every year, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to eat it.

Malina sat beside him and took his hand while Lenny moved over and pat his shoulder. His parents stared on in silence from the other end of the table. The tension in the air was so thick that no one dared to speak for fear of choking up.

The silence was broken by the phone's ring piercing through the air. Sam looked over to the landline with a heavy breath and reached over, striking the speaker button as he wasn't in the mood to pick up the receiver.

"Hello, is this the McGuire home?" A man's familiar voice caught Matt's attention. He looked over and his lips parted briefly.

"This is Samuel McGuire, who's calling?"

"My name is David Vega." Matt's eyes widened and he glanced at Malina, who was staring at the phone in shock. "You might know my wife, Holly…" Jo's hand rose up over her mouth and she let out a tearful gasp. To her, the name was merely a reminder of a wound she couldn't forget.

Sam's jaw locked and his muscles tensed. "Haven't heard that name in years. She was a nurse at a hospital in New York…how did you find our number?"

"I work for the LAPD, though it was difficult to find you."

"Yeah I was with the secret service once, I keep my numbers unlisted ever since. Why are you calling?"

"My wife's agreed to come forward. I didn't know anything about this for several years, but she confided in me that our oldest daughter was taken from you." Matt's heart stopped and he looked to his family, they were frozen with shock. Jo's hands cupped over her mouth and her eyelids slammed shut. "We haven't told Trina yet-"

"What made you look us up, to contact us?"

"I've been prodding her to do the right thing, she finally agreed."

"Why did you take my baby?" Jo cried out. David took a deep breath and let Holly speak. The woman's voice trembled with fear and sorrow, but Matt felt no pity for her

"I-I was young and my husband deployed when I was pregnant, but it was a false pregnancy. I-I couldn't tell him, and when you had twins, and you had a young little daughter already. I don't know, I just wasn't thinking."

Matt wanted to lash out, to scream at the woman that it wasn't justified, but he held his tongue for his family's sake. They would figure out what to do now, but at the very least, he didn't have to hold it in anymore.

Maybe now, there was a chance of getting to know his twin for real, but only time would tell.

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I hope you enjoyed the oneshot. The continuation of this is in my stories list, "Stuck in the Middle" and is told in the perspective of the other twin as she gets to know her birth family while also trying to assure her 'adoptive' family that she still plans to associate with them. A lot of pressure on the twin's shoulders, but I think you'll enjoy it.


End file.
